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He tells me his guy quoted him $1000 to replace it or something like $7-800 to repair. He's going with the repair, which I think is a fair price, but I thought the quote for replacement was ridiculous. I'm the kind to find the part myself and either put it on myself or give it to a mechanic to install, so I start googling replacement bumpers and had a hard time finding anything that would even go over $200. OEM or not.

Here's where my brain started to hurt. He says he would also prefer to keep the original bumper to preserve the numbers matching on his car. I'm thinking in my head if a bumper would even have a stamp besides the part # that would match it to the specific car (I doubt it but really I don't know). I've driven this car once and the button in the auto-shift sprung out and landed on my lap. I begin to argue who the fuck would check or even care if an Accord had the ORIGINAL bumper? I understand checking panels for matching paint or signs of repair, but this damage was so miniscule it's not like it hurt anything behind the bumper cover, so even if it was replaced it's apples for apples.

Personally, I'd take it to the Honda dealership and let the desk monkeys do the dirty work alongside the techs ...

But that's if you're willing to pay that overpriced 1,000 US buxx fee for a plastic panel & backyard mechanic work ~ and that's if I really had some sort of sentimental value on the rusty olde beater.

On a more realistic note … you can probably just go to a junkyard & find the bumper ~ or scout for one on Craig's eBay etc etc online. Then just get a cheap shop to do the labour & painting once you got the part.

He tells me his guy quoted him $1000 to replace it or something like $7-800 to repair. He's going with the repair, which I think is a fair price, but I thought the quote for replacement was ridiculous. I'm the kind to find the part myself and either put it on myself or give it to a mechanic to install, so I start googling replacement bumpers and had a hard time finding anything that would even go over $200. OEM or not.

Here's where my brain started to hurt. He says he would also prefer to keep the original bumper to preserve the numbers matching on his car. I'm thinking in my head if a bumper would even have a stamp besides the part # that would match it to the specific car (I doubt it but really I don't know). I've driven this car once and the button in the auto-shift sprung out and landed on my lap. I begin to argue who the fuck would check or even care if an Accord had the ORIGINAL bumper? I understand checking panels for matching paint or signs of repair, but this damage was so miniscule it's not like it hurt anything behind the bumper cover, so even if it was replaced it's apples for apples.

I'm just tipsy and feel like ranting.

If you're going to care about matching numbers, you shouldn't care about price. Additionally, newer cards don't stamp an individual number that potentially ties a part to the body. They stamp something like a date of manufacturer or a lot serial. It really doesn't matter for an accord.

Plastic bumper covers are difficult to repair, especially when dented. There may be brackets damaged on the cover etc. It'll never look the same as it did before with a repair and I highly don't recommend repairing plastic with a dent that big.

Alternatively, look on the used market, such as wrecking yards, for that bumper off of a scrap accord that doesn't have rear end damage. If its the same color, good, if it isnt, get a pro to paint over it.

I've found VIN labels all over on stuff. There was one on the inside of a front fender on my DSM if you pulled the liner out. Still though, on a bumper cover it's likely stamped with a serial.

But I concur, a VIN label on a bumper cover... Who cares? One, nobody's going to look, and two, I wouldn't look at what's pictured and say replacing it is going to lower the value. Common sense to do, yes, but hardly damage worthy of a price drop worth a lower price.

In all honesty, I'd replace it. $200 difference between the options make that an easy choice IMO.

But another option would be to consider "is it worth it in the first place"? Since he wants to sell it it might be worth looking at if he stands a chance of getting that money back in the first place. Id rather let a car go for a few hundred less, rather than dump near 1k in it and get a few hundred more. Not saying this IS the case, but possibly worth looking at.